50+ Organizations Call on Iowa's General Assembly to Support Sweeping Proposal for a Moratorium on Iowa Factory Farms

Local, State and National Groups Unite in Support of Legislation Critical to Protecting Iowans from Factory Farm Pollution & Public Health Impacts

DES MOINES, IA—Today, a coalition of 55 environmental, citizen and agricultural organizations to support legislative proposals for a moratorium on new and expanding factory farms in the state. The first-of-its-kind legislation moves beyond failed regulation attempts and focuses on implementing a statewide halt to new construction or expansion of factory farms in Iowa.

Currently, Iowa is home to over 10,000 factory farms, which produce more than 22 billion gallons of manure per year. The pollution generated by the industrial animal operations has resulted in widespread water contamination and diminished quality of life throughout the state.

“Across the nation, factory farming destroys communities and contaminates drinking water supplies and air quality,” said Krissy Kasserman, Food & Water Watch’s National Factory Farm Campaigner. “With Big Ag enjoying so many exemptions from key environmental laws, it’s clear that we can’t regulate ourselves out of this problem. A stop to the expansion of factory farming needs to happen now. It begins with Iowa.”

A harsh, unhealthy and environmentally risky form of food production, factory farming employs an unsustainable method of raising food animals that packs together large numbers of animals into confined spaces. Among the destructive results is the production of massive amounts of animal waste, creating risks to the local environment, natural resource contamination, the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria and public health hazards, including respiratory infections, asthma, skin rashes, nausea and headaches.

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